The 2013 MotoGP Championship headed this weekend to the Republic of San Marino, a microstate surrounded by Italy, for round 13 of 18.

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And for the fourth consecutive race, the same three Spaniards finished on the podium. Leading the trio was Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo, who has scored back-to-back victories following his win at Silverstone.

The reigning MotoGP Champion finished 3.379 of a second ahead of the man who took the pole position, Repsol Honda’s Marquez, and the 20-year-old rookie’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa. The latter finished 7.369 of a second back.

With his win – his third straight year at the venue on the shores of the Adriatic Ocean – the Mallorcan has 49-career World Championship victories, including 28 in the premier class. Also, with his Mugello wins for the past three years, Lorenzo has dominated on Italian soil, sweeping both rounds since 2011.

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: “It is important to win, because we don’t lose points but we have only recovered five points, so it is the same as Silverstone. It doesn’t make a big difference to the championship. But I’m very happy for this victory, because we struggled a lot during the weekend especially on braking.”

From second on the grid, Lorenzo shot into the lead as pole-sitter Marquez dropped to third on the opening lap. The latter would put on a spurt in the second half of the race, but by this point had fallen to fourth place due to an unforced error; Marquez recovered from his Turn 8 mistake to catch and pass both Lorenzo’s teammate Valentino Rossi and his Repsol Honda Team colleague Pedrosa. However, as the two Honda riders engaged in a battle, Lorenzo’s already comfortable lead only grew.

Marquez’s championship lead is now 34 points with five races remaining, while Lorenzo has drawn level with Pedrosa for second overall. Rossi and Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Cal Crutchlow are the only other two riders who can mathematically still clinch the title; the Italian ended Sunday’s race fourth, while the Englishman fell to sixth on the final lap behind LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl. Alvaro Bautista was seventh for GO&FUN Honda Gresini, having claimed his maiden MotoGP™ podium at Misano in 2012, while Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso beat teammate Nicky Hayden and Ignite Pramac Racing’s Michele Pirro to eighth spot.

Eleventh was Tech3’s Bradley Smith, while Colin Edwards (NGM Mobile Forward Racing) was the leading CRT rider in 12th; the American finishing one position ahead of Aleix Espargaro (Power Electronics Aspar) who, from an impressive sixth on the grid, ran fourth on Lap 1 but was handed a ride-through penalty for jumping the start. Six riders failed to make the finish, including Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone who was one of six Italians racing in front of a passionate crowd.

The MotoGP World Championship continues with Round 14, the Gran Premio Iveco de Aragón, at MotorLand Aragon in north-eastern Spain on Sept. 29.

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